Florence, Italy
Italy is a dream that keeps returning for the rest of your life.
- Anna Akhmatova
Brochure for Florence, Italy (PDF)
Dates of Travel:
January 1 - May 3, 2009
Overview:
Florence is a densely packed maze of scooter-crazed streets, stunning piazzas, grand palazzos, world-class galleries and museums, stylish cafes, and alluring marketplaces. With so much happening, it is no wonder that tourists flock to Florence by the busload.
Through participation in this carefully designed program, you will experience Florence in a way few other Americans are able to. You will learn the secrets needed to step away from the throngs of camera-toting family vacationers and begin to understand the less harried city life that Florentines enjoy. In time, the architectural enchantment of the world’s most famous Renaissance city might only be surpassed by the lively residents you will beet during your stay.
Application Deadline:
October 1, 2008
International Study Application
Eligibility: 
- Sophomore standing
- Cumulative GPA of 2.75 or above
- At least 18 years of age
- Currently enrolled in an accredited school of higher education
Cost:
- ~$15,000
- Cost Includes: Round-trip airfare from Green Bay
- Some Day-Trips and Excursions throughout Italy
- Lodging in a centralized location including furnishings, kitchen, and laundry facilities.
- Uffizi Card-Florence Museum Pass
- Cost of instruction at the British Institute of Florence (see Facilities for description)
- Mandatory UW Health/Travel Insurance
- Program fees
Itinerary:
- Depart Green Bay: December 29, 2008
- Dr. Jeffreys’ Class: December 31, 2008-January 27, 2009
- British Institute Classes Begin: January, 28
- Reading Week: February, 28-March, 8
- British Institute Classes End: May, 1
- Depart Florence: May, 2
Facilities:
The British Institute of Florence has been a center for academic excellence in Italy since 1917 and will be your academic “home” for the semester. It is located in the Palazzo Lanfredini (an early 16th century palace), on the south bank of the Arno near the Ponte Vecchio. The Palazzo contains well-equipped classrooms, an air-conditioned reading room and computer labs. The 55,000-volume Harold Acton Library, with specialized holdings in Italian studies, art history, travel, music, theatre, and English literature, is the largest lending library of English texts in Europe. The language center of the British Institute is located a short walk from the Ponte Vecchio at Piazza Strozzi 2, in Palazzo Strozzino, and has a study center where you can socialize with Italian students and practice your lessons.
Faculty: 
The 2008 Semester in Florence program will be led by Humanistic Studies and Religion Associate Professor Derek S. Jeffreys. Professor Jeffreys has a Ph.D. in Religious Ethics from the University of Chicago, and specializes in political ethics. In addition to authoring numerous articles, he has written a book on religion and political ethics, (Defending Human Dignity: John Paul II and Political Realism). While an undergraduate, Professor Jeffreys moved to Florence, Italy to learn Italian, with the goal of reading Niccolo Machiavelli’s work. He has returned to Italy many times, often leading student groups on travel courses. Other courses will be taught by faculty of the British Institute of Florence. All instructors are considered experts in their respective fields, and with the exception of the Italian Language Course, teach fluently in the English language.
Classes (mandatory):
- HUM STUD 483X – Italy from Within: Contemporary Italian Culture and Society, 3 credits
This course provides a thorough introduction to life and culture in modern Italy.
- UREST 483X – Florence: An Urban History, 3 credits
This course provides an in depth study of Florence as an urban reality, representing a model of urban development within Western culture.
- ART 483X – The Art of Renaissance Florence, 3 credits
You will examine the careers and achievements of many figures including Giotto, Donatello, Brunelleschi, and Fra Angelico. Emphasis is placed on analyzing Florentine art within a sequence of contexts, in order to understand better the cultural, political, economic, and religious circumstances that led to the production of art in Renaissance Florence. - HUM STUD 483X – Italian Language and Culture, 4 credits
This course provides a sound basic knowledge of Italian grammar and vocabulary in an authentic linguistic and cultural environment, and develops confidence in communicating in the language.
- HUM STUD 336 – Perspectives on Human Values: The Renaissance, 3 credits
This course traces the development of Italian Republicanism by reading thinkers like Leonardo Bruni, Pico della Mirandola, Niccolo Machiavelli, Francesco Guicciardini, and Donato Giannotti, and explores their lives by visiting sites where they lived and worked.
Brochure for Florence, Italy (PDF)
Questions:
Please refer any questions to the Office of International Education
OIE@UWGB.EDU
Phone: 920.465.2190
Fax: 920.465.2949